State of the Union: It's the economy, again

WASHINGTON (AP) — Addressing a demand for economic answers, President Barack Obama will try to convince the American people and a divided Congress that he has a vision for speeding up job creation, promoting spending on the core of his agenda but promising to rein in a growing, staggering debt.

His State of the Union address will reflect reality: The economy trumps all.

To a nationwide television audience tonight, Obama will focus on jobs, the issue of most importance to the public and to his hopes for a second term.

Specifically, he will focus on improving the education, innovation and infrastructure of the United States as the way to provide a sounder economic base. He will pair that with calls to reduce the government's debt — now topping $14 trillion — and reform government. Those five areas will frame the speech, with sprinklings of fresh proposals.

Yet no matter how ambitious Obama's rhetorical reach, his speech at the halfway point of his term will be viewed in the context of his new political reality.